


to the willing souls

by kimaracretak



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Cults, F/F, Gen, Post-Canon, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-28 03:17:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17174828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimaracretak/pseuds/kimaracretak
Summary: Jester sighs and stares off into the corner by her bed where her painting of the Traveller stands out in bold colour against the pale wood of the inn wall. "I know, okay, I know," she sighs, drawing out the vowels. "But I was having fun, y'know, and this was like. Paperwork."[ Of cult leadership and treasure hunts ]





	to the willing souls

**Author's Note:**

  * For [msbrokenbrightside](https://archiveofourown.org/users/msbrokenbrightside/gifts).



> For the prompt: prompt: “If you don’t like this world then change it.” - cult leader jester in her finest

_Dear Traveller_ , Jester writes, and then she frowns. Purple ink. Not right. Purple ink in her pretty blue pen that matched her hair. She should have known he would be in a mood after she didn't write last night.

Jester sighs and stares off into the corner by her bed where her painting of the Traveller stands out in bold colour against the pale wood of the inn wall. "I know, okay, I know," she sighs, drawing out the vowels. "But I was having _fun_ , y'know, and this was like. Paperwork."

He laughs. She can't tell anymore if it's in her head or if he's somewhere nearby, invisible. Maybe both. Both is always good.

"Is the blue ink in my purple pen then?" Jester asks. "Orrrrr do I get to go on a _treasure hunt_." She hasn't had time for a proper treasure hunt in ages, not since she found all the clues to bring Beau and Yasha back. She thinks Fjord is next, but he's all the way across the ocean with the pirates, and she has too much to do here right now. She knows it's okay, that the Traveller will tell her when it's time to go get him, but ... she misses doing _big_ things sometimes.

A treasure hunt for ink would be a good start. Maybe it could even turn into a treasure hunt for other things!

Jester surveys the pens laid out in front of her. There's amethyst and lilac there even though she could have sworn she had finished the lilac when she re-drew Beau's sash last week. Maybe that's a clue she should be looking in other places.

"Oh Traaaaveller, I'm going to fiiiind you," she sings softly as she gets up and crosses the room to the loose floorboard under the bed where she keeps all her most special colours. The small pocket of space is empty apart from a blank scrap of parchment, and Jester's eyes widen in delight.

"You're cheating!" The Traveller laughs again, and Jester sits back on her heels. "You're cheating, you're not mad at me at all! My turn!"

She races first to the wardrobe, then to the window, indecision lending her speed. The scarf she plucks from her mirror is purple, her curtains, today, are purple too. What does it mean?

Outside, the courtyard is full of all the Traveller's friends, who have become Jester's friends now too. Friends who will do anything she says, because they like her and the Traveller and also because Beau and Yasha are very scary if people don't want to be Jester's friends.

Well, they all say Jester is scary too, but that's not really her fault. She doesn't mean to be, and she thinks that means it shouldn't count. It's just that she's a cleric, and the Traveller's best friend, and sometimes making wounds taste like candy floss makes them better than healing does.

But she's getting distracted. Beau is outside, her blue and purple rainbow clothes even prettier than usual. She's supervising playtime, technically, which today seems to mean doing something silly with rope bridges and matches to teach all their friends how to run really fast. Maybe she took Jester's pens?

But no, Beau doesn't do art. She likes to change things by punching them, which, to give her some credit, Jester likes watching. A lot. And Beau's happy to be back now, even if she wasn't at first. Happy enough to help Jester on her treasure hunt?

Jester shoves open the window. "Beau!" she yells as loud as she can, and giggles as all her friends scatter and Beau swears and drops the match she was holding.

"What!" Beau yells back, stamping out the match before the flames can creep back up her trousers.

"Do you wanna help me ask questions for a treasure hunt?"

Beau stares at her for a minute, and Jester has a brief flash of missing the old Beau, the one who would say yes without thinking twice. "Is it, like, a creepy hunt for weird treasure?"

Jester sighs and clambers out of the window, wincing as her horn bumps against the frame. "It is a fun hunt for my favourite pens," she corrects, skipping across the yard until she can fling her arms around Beau's neck. "The Traveller took them, except he cheated, so I am cheating and getting you to help me, okay?"

Beau rolls her eyes, but doesn't pull away. "Why do I get the feeling that isn't actually a question?"

"Because," Jester says seriously, "you are my best best friend apart from him, and we can't fix the world if I don't have my pens."

For a minute Beau looks sad, and Jester worries that she's going to say something mean and then Jester will have to punish her again, like when she first came back and was grey and quiet and no fun at all even when Jester hurt her.

But she's better now, lots and lots of fun, and sometimes she even kisses Jester first, so it's not technically that much of a surprise when Beau says, "Yeah, okay then," and even smiles a little bit.

"Good!" Jester beams, and goes up on tiptoes to plant a quick kiss on Beau's lips. Beau doesn't kiss her back, but that's okay. They have a whole treasure hunt ahead of them, and all the time in the world.

The Traveller will make sure of that.


End file.
